Provincial and all Ireland champions

Well the league is nearly over we all had a look at the teams, who is going to come out on top ?

Munster- Kerry
Ulster- Monaghan
Connaught- Mayo
Leinster- Loais
All-Ireland- Cork

GAAGenious wrote:Well the league is nearly over we all had a look at the teams, who is going to come out on top ?

Munster- Kerry
Ulster- Monaghan
Connaught**- Mayo
Leinster- Loais**
All-Ireland- Cork

Winter football...
Munster: Kerry: Finished, nothing coming through...ie. Going back for Brosnan.
Ulster: Monaghan non runners....Should Cavan win the U-21 they'll be real contenders...
Connacht: The winner of the Sligo/Leitrim clash on May 22nd. will emerge here to triumph over weaker sides.
Leinster: Dublin by a street here, nothing in Leinster (De Duds aside, hardly another team worthy of Senior status, the weakest grouping)...
All-Ireland: Dublin's to lose.....

**Couple of spelling queries there GG..

Wish i knew which route the Dubs will take

Down
Kerry
Mayo

Haven't a clue at the moment who will win Leinster..

Provincials
Irrelevant! (see Meath 2010)

Sam:

DUBS!

cant see Down or Monaghan having much of a say in Ulster - Donegal would be my tip

bocerty wrote:cant see Down or Monaghan having much of a say in Ulster - Donegal would be my tip

Bocerty i would not dismiss Down probably the best team i have seen in the league...

Cork for the best part of a decade
Dubs will be closest and might sneak two. 2013 and 2015

Last year proved beyond doubt that a provincial title is a liability
but if you want the four losing Quarter finalists which might be the same thing

Tyrone
Mayo
Kerry
Kildare

nobody cares about the provincials anymore so for the main event it will be cork

It is Antrim's to lose.

mullins wrote:

bocerty wrote:cant see Down or Monaghan having much of a say in Ulster - Donegal would be my tip

Bocerty i would not dismiss Down probably the best team i have seen in the league...

maybe so Mullins but i will be more than surprised to see them repeat the exploits of last year

Bocerty I can't understand how you can be so confident of Down not being able to repeat last year's run. Yes, Championship knock-out football is a minefield and I 'm not some blind Down fan who thinks we'll 'swagger' our way into late August/September. But Down, going by their performances last year and this year's NFL, have certainly shown that they have a top quality team. With players like Marty Clarke, Coulter, Danny Hughes, Kevin McKernan (and remember one of their best and most inspirational players, Ambrose Rodgers, missed the AISF, AIF last year and this year's NFL) I could not so easily write off our chances of 'having a say in Ulster'. Without any bias I think Down are the best team in Ulster at the moment...the course of the Championship may well prove me wrong but for now I think it's hard to argue against it.


The Ulster Championship is a strange one, and a hard one to call. Down SHOULD be beating Armagh in the Athletic Grounds next month. Armagh are quite simply an inferior side, or at least play in such a way that makes them inferior. Yet the intensity of the rivalry might spur them on and beating Down would give them a lot of confidence. Tyrone are harder to judge, but their tactical approach and work rate has been instilled in other teams. They are well capable of winning Ulster but other teams have really improved their tactical approach. Donegal appear to be shaping up well...but I'm not totally convinced by them yet nor should anyone else be until they are pitted against better teams. Promotion is meaningless unless this apparent improvement is built on. Monaghan and Derry will probably choke at some stage....two teams who certainly have the capabilities, but just cannot seem to find the winning formula. They lack the killer instinct that often separates good sides from trophy-winning sides. If they do manage to string a couple of good results together it might just be springboard for their players to really express themselves. Cavan I suppose are in the same boat, although U21 success will bring a good dose of confidence. Again, they will have to build on this, but 2011 will not be their year. Antrim and Fermanagh, without any intention to disrespect, shouldn't have overly long seasons.

Down's run last year will serve as an example to other teams who feel they have the players but just need to bring in a bit of bite. Most of the Down players were playing on the team when they were crashing out to teams like Wicklow and losing league finals against Tipperary. 2010 comes around, a defeat against Tyrone sparks a lot of soul searching in the Down camp, they string a few wins together, a big game against Kerry inspires them to a big performance and a destruction of the Kingdom, next thing they're in the All-Ireland final. For the best part of the last ten years the tactic was, lump it into Benny and if he doesn't get the goals then just give up. Now Down have 6+ names on the scoresheet in almost every game.

I've focussed on Down and Ulster here but all over Ireland there are good sides who just need that little bit of spark, and a little bit of fortune, to put themselves up there among the best in 2011 and beyond.

But to get off the fence here are my predictions, as for the qualifiers, who the hell knows :

Ulster- Down. Scoring machine. Need to sort out the full back line who are leaking too many goals. If they can achieve this then in a point kicking shootout they will thrive. Highly competitive province though so very little room for error, especially in a tricky first round game against Armagh. Ulster is in transition and Down have maintained a steady ship.

Leinster- Dublin. Really no excuse for them not to be winning this. Not entirely convinced by them yet but they certainly have a team and management capable of winning the All-Ireland. Kildare seem to have faded. Laois aren't quite ready. Louth will be determined but sadly their big chance was probably lost last year. Meath are really up against it.

Connacht- Mayo. Again, no excuses. Easy run to the final. Galway are a disaster at the minute, same with Sligo who looked so promising. Roscommon will not be able to rely on other teams' complacency.

Munster- Cork. They will be determined to be the Munster Champions. All Ireland champions of course but there's always that niggle that they sh**e themselves against Kerry in the championship. Cork are the best team in a pretty predictable province. Many have branded them one of the worst teams to win an All-Ireland and they certainly have the ability to prove everyone wrong.

All Ireland - Dublin. Know how to use the space of Croke Park as it is their back garden. Handed Cork a place in the All-Ireland final last year due to classic indiscipline. They have finally found the right manager and they no longer can have any internal excuses for not winning Sam. They have a relatively easy passage into the quarter finals where they should thrive from thereon in.

Leinster - I think Meath will find it difficult to retain their tainted crown. Dublin are the team to beat and ought to be trumping the other eleven teams in this province if they harbour any thoughts of an All-Ireland. Louth have got a nice draw and with confidence still high, they should make another final.

Munster - Between Kerry and Cork. Impossible to call as who knows what is the preferred route of Counihan and O'Connor to Croke Park. If pushed, I would say Cork as they look to be the stronger right now.

Connacht - Sligo's momentum under Walsh looks at an end, and with the Rossies topping Division Four, and the alleged big two still struggling, there could be back-to-back wins for the Sheepstealers.

Ulster - Very wide open even though you have to go back to 1998 to find a winner who wasn't called Tyrone or Armagh. Donegal are making a push, Monaghan are under new management, Down are the reigning All-Ireland finalists, and Derry look a different animal under John Brennan. Even Cavan will come into it with an u21 final appearance under the belt. However, it's hard to look past the tried and tested, and one would have to side with Tyrone once again.

cork

hipster 2 wrote:cork

Ah yes they will just win the Munster, Ulster, Connacht and Leinster championships, as well as the All Ireland.